The Mets won ugly with Mike Pelfrey, Aaron Heilman, and Brian Stokes all having off nights on the mound.
David Wright had a monster 4 for 4 game with 3 RBI’s and a homer to power the Mets over the never-say-die Nationals.
The Phillies lost so the Mets extend their NL East lead again to 3.5 games. There are now 17 games left to play. This is the point last season when the Mets began their epic collapse. Enough said.
Washington Nationals (56-89 Road: 25-49) at New York Mets (81-63 Home: 43-27) 7:10pm
Odalis Perez (6-10 4.19) vs. Mike Pelfrey (13-9 3.62)
What to watch: The Mets go for the sweep of the short series tonight. Perez has pitched decently for the Nats lately. But Pelfrey has been outstanding despite a loss in his last start to the Phillies. Carlos Delgado is absolutely scalding hot right now. It’s been almost impossible to get him out.
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It’s incredible that a guy who couldn’t hit his weight for the first two months of the season in now being talked about in the NL MVP conversation. But Carlos Delgado did it again tonight with two homers (35 for the season) and back to back with Carlos Beltran in the sixth inning.
Oliver Perez reverted to his early season form giving up seven runs over 3.1 innings. An ugly game for Perez tonight, it was reminiscent of his early season beatings he took with regularity.
The bullpen held on with only Brandon Knight allowing a run in the fifth. Luis Ayala got a chance to close out a game against his former team. That must’ve felt good.
The Phillies lost so the Mets lead goes to 2.5 games with the magic number at 16.
Washington Nationals (56-88 Road: 25-48) at New York Mets (80-63 Home: 42-27) 7:10pm
John Lannan (8-13 3.88) vs. Oliver Perez (10-7 3.86)
What to watch: The Mets start a two game series with the cellar dweller Nationals. Lannan has been one of the few bright spots for the Nats so this game won’t be a cake walk. Perez has had two very good starts in a row now. The Mets are up by two on the Phillies who start a series at Citizens Bank with the Marlins.
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It’s still amazing to me that Oliver Perez has become a consistently good pitcher. He got another quality start in tonight going 6.2 innings for the win. He only gave up three runs on six hits and three walks with eight strikeouts.
Brian Schneider and Carlos Delgado both homered in the game. The Mets put together a nice rally in the ninth inning to add four insurance runs. That was key to reduce pressure on Aaron Heilman closing out the game.
The Mets complete the sweep in Washington and fly to Pittsburgh tonight for a four game series starting tomorrow night.
New York Mets (64-56 Road: 28-33) at Washington Nationals (44-77 Home: 23-35) 7:10pm
Oliver Perez (8-7 3.90) vs. Colin Balester (2-4 4.66)
What to watch: The Mets go for the sweep against the lowly Nationals. Perez has been astounding since working under the tutelage of pitching coach Dan Warthen. Balester has been decent for a rookie playing for a bad team. Let’s get the sweep and get out of town.
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New York Mets (63-56 Road: 27-33) at Washington Nationals (44-76 Home: 23-34) 7:10pm
John Maine (9-7 4.13) vs. Jason Bergmann (2-8 4.13)
What to watch: The Mets continue to try to patch together some wins with their bullpen in shambles. This might be Maine’s last start before going to the bullpen. The Mets really need to do some damage offensively against the struggling Nats so there isn’t so much pressure on the bullpen at the end of the game.
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